Beechcraft A36 N711SK

Summary

On 16 January 2007 at about 00:43 local time, a Beechcraft A36 registered N711SK, operated by Andrew Coppolo, was involved in an accident near Wayne, New Jersey, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 January 2007 at 00:43

Classification

Accident

Location

Wayne, New Jersey, United States

Nearest airport

Essex County Airport (CDW)

Coordinates

40.9239, -74.2386

Aircraft

Beechcraft A36

Registration

N711SK

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Andrew Coppolo

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Charlotte → Caldwell

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

NYC07FA056

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to comply with the published instrument approach procedure, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane approached the destination airport in night instrument meteorological conditions. The pilot received a clearance for the localizer approach, and radar and global positioning (GPS) data revealed the airplane was established on the localizer course centerline. The airplane crossed the final approach fix 200 feet below the minimum descent altitude (MDA) for the fix, and over the next 1.5 miles, descended on an approximate 7-degree approach angle and a 945 feet-per-minute rate of descent. The airplane continued its descent and struck trees on a ridgeline approximately 400 feet below the intermediate MDA for that segment of the approach. A witness at the crash site saw the airplane through thick fog in a wings-level descent just prior to contact with the trees. She stated that the engine ran smoothly and without interruption. Other witnesses described thick fog along the ridgeline throughout the day prior to the accident, with visibility less than 1/8 mile. Examination of the damaged trees, the crash site, and the airplane revealed signatures consistent with engine power at ground contact. Examination of the wreckage revealed no mechanical anomalies. Post accident flight check results for the localizer approach were "Satisfactory." Further examination of air traffic control (ATC) records revealed that the pilot's first takeoff on the day of the accident was 12 hours prior to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.